Follow Colorado Avalanche prospects Cody Corbett of the Edmonton Oil Kings and Samuel Henley of the Val-d'Or Foreurs as they competed at the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup. The London Knights hosted this year's Canadian Hockey League championship.

Sunday, May 25, 2014 - Championship Final

Edmonton (6), Guelph (3)

After 48 years, the city of Edmonton has another Memorial Cup championship.

The Edmonton Oil Kings used a three-goal second period to defeat the Guelph Storm 6-3 in the Memorial Cup championship final on Sunday and bring the Canadian Hockey League title back to the capital of Alberta.

"We're coming back to Edmonton as champions," Oil Kings head coach Derek Laxdal said. "Twice now. As Western Hockey League and Memorial Cup Champions."

It is the Oil Kings' first Memorial Cup in their modern history and third overall, as they also won the trophy in 1963 and 1966.

Avalanche prospect Cody Corbett scored his first goal of the tournament in the first period, and it was a crucial one for the Oil Kings.

Robby Fabbri scored just a minute into the game to give Guelph, the Ontario Hockey League champions, an early lead, but Corbett tied the game at 9:38 of the period on slap shot from above the left circle during an Edmonton power play.

The Storm took a 2-1 lead going into the second period on Stephen Pierog's goal at 16:36 of the first, but the Oil Kings responded with three goals in the middle period. Tyler Robertson opened the scoring in the stanza at 1:58 before Edgars Kulda scored on the power play at 6:06 to give Edmonton its first lead of the game.

It was a lead the Oil Kings wouldn't relinquish.

Mitchell Moroz added to the lead with 5:41 left in the second period—giving Edmonton a 4-2 advantage after 40 minutes—but Zack Mitchell tallied at 3:23 of the third to get Guelph back to within one score.

The one-goal deficit for the Storm didn't last long as the Oil Kings' Henrik Samuelsson scored 1:37 later to make it a 5-3 game. Samuelsson sealed the contest with an empty-net tally with 1:26 left.

Guelph had defeated Edmonton 5-2 in round-robin play on May 17 and earned an automatic berth into the championship game after winning its first three games of the tournament.

However, it seemed as if the Oil Kings were the ones riding momentum in the final. They had won a triple-overtime thriller against Val-d'Or in the semifinals on Friday and didn't seem to get down on themselves when the Storm scored early and retook the lead late in the first period.

"Our kids don't care who we're playing," Laxdal said. "They're going to play a certain way, they're going to grind out a win, and what do you say about some of the efforts tonight? I thought everybody stepped up. They were focused and ready to put a Grade A effort forward."

Friday, May 23, 2014

Edmonton (4), Val-d'Or (3) – 3OT

The Edmonton-Val-d'Or series at the Memorial Cup was as close as it could get.

Twice the Foreurs scored late in the third period to force overtime and twice it took more than one extra period to decide a winner. Each team scored seven total goals in the two games, but it was the last one by the Edmonton Oil Kings that was the difference.

Curtis Lazar scored 2:42 into the third overtime on Friday night to send the Oil Kings to the championship game with a 4-3 victory over the Val-d'Or Foreurs in the Memorial Cup semifinals.

The Western Hockey League champion Oil Kings will face the Guelph Storm, champions of the Ontario Hockey League, on Sunday at 2 p.m. MT in the Memorial Cup Final. The game will be televised live in the U.S. on the NHL Network.

Avalanche prospect Cody Corbett set up the overtime-winning goal, as he got the puck from Reid Petryk at the left point and fired a slap shot that was deflected in front by Lazar to end the longest game in Memorial Cup history at 102 minutes and 42 seconds.

Corbett finished the game with two assists and a plus-3 rating. Fellow Avs prospect Samuel Henley of the Foreurs had a plus-1 rating in what ended up being the final game of his junior career.

“All the province of Quebec should be proud of our guys, and they should keep their heads up,” Val-d’Or’s head coach Mario Durocher said afterward.

The Oil Kings were less than a minute away from advancing to the championship game in regulation, but Guillaume Gelinas forced OT with 36 seconds remaining on a slap shot from the right point after a faceoff win by the Foreurs.

Gelinas' tying goal was oddly similar to what happened in the first matchup between the clubs in round-robin play on Tuesday night. Henley tied that game with 4:11 left in the third period, and Val-d'Or went on to win 4-3 on Anthony Richard's tally at 1:15 of double overtime.

Val-d'Or opened the scoring in the semifinal contest just 1:49 in on Phil Pietroniro's goal, but Mads Eller tallied for Edmonton at 9:00 to tie the game at 1-1.

The Oil Kings scored twice in the first 10 minutes of the second period on tallies by Mitchell Moroz and Edgars Kulda to take a 3-1 lead, but Randy Gazzola got the Foreurs within striking distance for the third after scoring with 2:08 remaining in the middle frame.

Edmonton outshot Val-d'Or 34-29 in regulation and finished the game with a 54-49 edge.

Both the Oil Kings and the Guelph Storm will be looking for their first Memorial Cup in their franchises' history on Sunday. Guelph defeated Edmonton earlier in the tournament, 5-2, on May 17 and went on to earn an automatic berth to the title game after going 3-0 in round-robin play.

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Val-d'Or (4), Edmonton (3) – 2OT

In a few short months, Cody Corbett of the Edmonton Oil Kings and Samuel Henley of the Val-d'Or Foreurs will be teammates battling for a roster spot at the Colorado Avalanche's training camp. But on Tuesday, they were opponents fighting for a win at the Memorial Cup.

Both players played a major factor in the final round-robin game for both teams as Corbett had two assists while Henley scored the tying goal in the final minutes of the third period to force overtime.

Anthony Richard scored the winner at 1:15 of the second OT to give the Foreurs a 4-3 victory and an automatic berth into Friday's semifinals. It was the sixth longest game in Memorial Cup history, and the first double-overtime contest since May 22, 2005 between Ottawa and Kelowna.

Edmonton held a 2-0 lead midway through the first period on goals by Reid Petryk at 6:22 and Curtis Lazar at 9:00 before Val-d'Or gained some momentum back with Shawn Ouellete-St. Amant's tally with 2:56 left in the stanza.

Val-d'Or's Pierre-Maxime Poudrier scored shorthanded at 9:38 of the second period to tie the game at 2-2 going into the final 20 minutes of regulation.

The Oil Kings retook the lead at 5:46 of the third period on a goal by Henrik Samuelsson that began with a great pass from Corbett. From his own zone, Corbett fed the puck along the wall to Brett Pollock at Foreurs' blue line before a quick pass to Samuelsson in the high slot. Samuelsson had plenty of space as he went hard to the net and scored with a wrist shot after a deke move.

It appeared as if Corbett's assist and Samuelsson's goal would hold up as the game-winner before Henley tied the contest with 4:11 remaining.

With the puck at the left circle, Henley got the puck from Richard down low, attacked to the front of the net and scored on a backhand shot that just went by the left pad of Edmonton goalie Tristan Jarry. It was only the second shot of the period for Val-d'Or, which was outshot 50-33 in the game.

“Again we had a slow start,” Foreurs head coach Mario Durocher said. “I think every period we play better and better, so hopefully we’ll be able to do the same thing for the rest of the tournament.”

Despite the loss, Edmonton is still guaranteed at least one more game at the Memorial Cup. If London defeats Guelph on Wednesday, then the Oil Kings will play the host Knights on Thursday in the tiebreaker game. If Guelph beats London, then Edmonton will have a rematch with Val-d'Or in Friday's semifinals.

Monday, May 19, 2014

Guelph (6), Val-d'Or (3)

Kerby Rychel scored just 59 seconds into the game, and the Guelph Storm added two more goals in the first six minutes to help defeat the Val-d'Or Foreurs 6-3 on Monday at the Memorial Cup.

The win for Guelph gives it a guaranteed spot in the championship final on Sunday. The Storm becomes the eighth team in the past 10 years to start the Memorial Cup with two straight wins.

Guelph's lead was at 4-0 before Randy Gazzola and Timotej Sille scored 56 seconds of one another midway through the second period to cut Val-d'Or's deficit to two goals.

However, that was as close as the Foreurs would get as the Storm added two more tallies at the end of the middle stanza to extend its lead back to four goals.

"We played against a really good team, and they had a really good start," Val-d'Or head coach Mario Durocher said. "I think we are looking at them in the first period. I think they outskated us. They outworked us the first two periods. The only good thing is that in the third period we didn't allow any goals, and we scored two goals on the power play,"

Colorado Avalanche prospect and Val-d'Or captain Samuel Henley finished the game with a minus-2 rating and two penalty minutes.

Henley and Val-d'Or will finish round-robin play on Tuesday against fellow Avs prospect Cody Corbett and the Western Hockey League champion Edmonton Oil Kings. The winner of that game would secure a berth into Friday's semifinals.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

Edmonton (5), London (2)

Nearly 24 hours after suffering a convincing loss, the Edmonton Oil Kings rebounded and put together a dominant performance of their own.

Luke Bertolucci and Edgars Kulda each scored twice as the Oil Kings defeated the host London Knights 5-2 on Sunday to earn their first win of the Memorial Cup.

Edmonton took a 2-0 lead on goals from Reid Petryk at 9:42 of the first period and Kulda at 6:05 of the second period before the Knights were finally able to find the back of the net. Alex Basso scored for London at 16:12 of the second period to end a 119:55 goalless drought.

The celebration at Budweiser Gardens didn't last long as Kulda scored on a scramble in front of the net less than two minutes later to push the Oil Kings' lead back to two goals. Avalanche prospect Cody Corbett had the assist on the goal, as he kept the puck in the zone on a clearing attempt by London before passing it to Kulda down low. Corbett finished the game with a plus-1 rating.

In the third period, Bertolucci scored twice for Edmonton while Dakota Mermis scored London's second tally midway through the stanza.

"I think we showed that resiliency tonight," Edmonton head coach Derek Laxdal said. "London came out in the first seven or eight minutes with a real good push and (then) we kind of established a bit of traction in our game."

"At the end of the day, it's the first win of the tournament for us, and we get a day of rest tomorrow before moving on to Tuesday."

The Oil Kings close out round-robin play Tuesday against the Val-d'Or Foreurs, champions of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Guelph (5), Edmonton (2)

The Guelph Storm used four unanswered goals to take its first game of the Memorial Cup with a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oil Kings on Saturday night.

The Ontario Hockey League champion Storm led 1-0 after a Kerby Rychel scored with five seconds left in the opening period, but the Oil Kings quickly responded at the start of the second frame to take control of some momentum and the lead. Henrik Samuelsson and Ashton Sautner scored 27 seconds of one another to give Edmonton a 2-1 advantage in the first two minutes of the middle stanza.

Rychel tied the contest at 2-2 with his second goal of the game at 7:40 of the second period, and Brock McGinn, younger brother of Colorado Avalanche forward Jamie McGinn, scored on what ended up being the game-winner at 14:52.

Tyler Bertuzzi tallied twice in the third period to solidify the Storm's win, which was its first at the Memorial Cup since 2002.

Guelph outshot Edmonton 39-32 and had a better power play as it went 2 for 3 with the man advantage. The Oil Kings did not score on any of their five power-play chances.

“We gave up two power play goals and we didn’t score on the power play, so special teams really let us down,” Oil Kings head coach Derek Laxdal said. “We have to figure that out pretty quick here.”

Avs prospect and Edmonton defenseman Cody Corbett finished with a minus-2 rating in the game.

Friday, May 16, 2014

Val-d'Or (1) vs. London (0)

Anthony Mantha scored the only goal with 3:40 left in the first period, and Val-d'Or Foreurs held off the host London Knights for a 1-0 victory in the opening game of the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup.

Avalanche prospect Samuel Henley had the assist on Mantha's tally after he fed him the puck on a 3-on-2 rush.

“Winning this game gives us a little break, gives us two days off, and we come back strong on Monday," Mantha said. "I think it’s a confidence builder for our team."

Val-d'Or goaltender Antoine Bibeau stole the show as he recorded the first shutout at the Memorial Cup since 2011, and his 51 saves marked the most ever at the tournament in a shutout performance. He stopped 20 shots in the first period, 13 in the second and 18 in the third.

The victory for the Foreurs is their first at the Memorial Cup since May 26, 2001 when they defeated the Regina Pats 5-4 in the semifinals.